A Case of Questions with Matthew Stowell, Food and Wine Writer

One of my first paid writing jobs was with the now defunct Cyprus Gourmet, a local food and wine magazine started by Patrick Skinner, a dapper British expat who lived in Vouni and moved back to the UK many years ago to live (and chase dreams) in a revamped countryside windmill.

My editor at the time was Matthew Stowell, a talented American writer, journalist and occasional filmmaker who's been in and out of the The Rock more times than a cruise-ship captain docking in Limassol to do shots of zivania with girlfriend #5.

Matthew has had quite an adventurous and eclectic life. He's worked as a cook, bartender, construction worker, VW mechanic, taxi driver, proofreader, New York City bookshop owner, paralegal and English teacher. As a writer, he's served as a dance, visual arts and music critic for newspapers in Boston, San Francisco and Chicago, and written hundreds of articles on food and wine both in the US and Cyprus. Furthermore, he's been a finalist for the 1978 Virginia Prize for Fiction and the 2009 First Amendment Writes Poetry Prize, and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in Criticism. Matthew is the proud author of two detective novels (Roll Away the Stone and Blind Faith), a collection of poems (The Look of Love) and a book of dramatic works (Three Screenplays and A One Act). Most importantly to this blog's readers, he is the author of the island's latest wine guide, Stowell's Guide to the Wines and Wineries of Cyprus. Matthew is back on The Rock so we reached out and picked his brain on one of his favorite subjects. And make sure to buy his book!

Why wine?

I have been aware of wine and had respect for it since I was a child. I grew up in a large family and we drank wine with dinner—not every day, not with hot dogs and beans, but if the meal was put together as a substantial dinner, my father would send me down to the basement for a bottle of wine. So for me, a meal isn’t a meal without wine.

First wine that really captured your attention? How old were you?

When I was a teenager, I confess I liked Liebfraumilch. It was popular then and went down smoothly, but it didn’t really impress me as anything special. The first wine that truly grabbed me and made me sit up and study the label was a Petite Sirah (a cross between Peloursin and Syrah) from the Sonoma Valley in California. I was in my early twenties and living in San Francisco, working as company manager for a modern dance company.

All-time favorite bottle of wine?

During those same years in California, I was gifted with a bottle of Chateau Latour from the year of my birth, 1949. My girlfriend and I hitch-hiked down the coast to Big Sur and in a cabin at Deetjin’s Inn we shared the wine. It was an incredible experience. My girlfriend only took a sip then wanted to go for a walk. I told her, “You go ahead. I’m going to drink this wine. I’ll try to save you some.”

Favorite wine-producing region? Why?

I really love the wines of Cyprus. When I’m away from the island (at the moment I’m stuck in Mexico City) I crave Cypriot wines above all others. There’s just something about it that speaks to my soul. Next would be Bordeaux, Burgundy, Tuscany and the Douro Valley in Portugal.

Your favorite food-and-wine pairing?

Steak and Maratheftiko.

What is Cyprus missing when it comes to wine?

In my opinion, nothing. Some people complain that Cyprus doesn’t export its wines, they can’t find Cypriot wines in their home countries. That is because most Cypriot wineries are too small to produce enough bottles for a larger market. Let’s say some New York importer falls in love with a Xinisteri or Maratheftiko and tells the winemaker, I want 100,000 bottles a year, otherwise it’s not worth my while. Most Cypriot winemakers could not do it, or if they did, there would be nothing left for Cyprus. But I think this is a good thing. Keep it small. It’s more conducive to creating top quality wine.

What do you foresee for Cyprus’s wine industry?

A few more wineries will open. More experimentation with various grape varieties will take place. The quality, as it has over the past 20 years, will continue to improve.

What Cypriot wine would you match with grilled halloumi, The Rock’s greatest contribution to mankind?

You should always douse grilled halloumi with fresh lemon juice so I would probably drink a single vineyard Xinisteri (well chilled), a dry Rosé or maybe a Morokanella.

What do you enjoy most about your work in the food & wine world?

The people in the food and wine business in Cyprus, for the most part, are intelligent, passionate and generous individuals who enjoy the good things in life and love to share them, so I am always pleased to spend time with them. But I particularly enjoy introducing Cypriot wines to those who are unfamiliar with them, especially to people who have the antiquated opinion that our wines are inferior to those of France, Italy, Spain or the Americas.

Who is your favorite wine personality? Why?

J. Liebling, a food (and wine) writer for the New Yorker about 70 years ago. He once quoted a playwright friend of his who, admonishing his cook, said, “The wine cellar is becoming a disgrace—no more ‘34s and hardly any ‘37s. Last week I had to offer my publisher a bottle that was far too good for him, simply because there was nothing between the insulting and the superlative.”

Any embarrassing episodes involving spilled wine, corkscrews, sommeliers or drunken behavior?

I hadn’t been truly intoxicated since high school when I overindulged at a wine presentation/dinner at the Columbia Steak House in Limassol. Before dinner, when we were supposed to mingle in a bar area, I was nervous among so many strangers and could not say no every time a waiter approached with a tray of glasses of the new Zambartas rosé. And it was amazingly good wine! I forgot that there were several more wines to sample with dinner, but I dutifully sampled them and got so woozy I couldn’t speak English (or any form of Greek). Akis Zambartas had to drive me home, but we laughed together like newly minted oligarchs.

Of course, your all-time favorite Cypriot (or other island) wine?

I was visiting some in-laws in Limassol who didn’t drink much wine, but they knew I was passionate about it. As I was leaving, the hostess dug around behind some books in their library and pulled out a 15-year-old bottle of Ayios Elias (from the Chrysorroyiatissa Monastery in Panayia) and handed it to me. I opened it a couple of days later, and it was extraordinary! It was also solid proof that Cypriot wines had ageing potential.

You can contact Matthew via email or Facebook.

White on White

Domaine Papagiannakos on Display

Greek wine has come a long way since those ignoble days when retsina, the pine-tinged beverage that reminds me of a freshly cleaned boy's toilet, defined the country's wine industry. During the past ten years, Greece's exciting work with a myriad of endemic varieties have left a conspicuous mark on global wine lovers' palates; demand for these wines is rapidly increasing and, unfortunately, prices are soon to follow with Paris Sigalas' earth-shattering whites, for instance, already asking fans to cough up an additional ten Euros per bottle. On average.

Besides Xinomavro, a red I would love Axe to bottle up as deodorant, two of my favourite Greek varieties are whites. Santorini's flagship Assyrtiko, of course, which breathes in the island's volcanic rock and brackish breeze and creates a wine that makes you lick your lips and pucker up. The second one is Malagousia, a dwindling variety that was rediscovered by Vangelis Gerovassiliou, and reminds me of the peaches, mango and cream body lotion The Wife, Ph.D., rubs on her tummy whenever she's trying to seduce me.

Vassilis Papagiannakos at A.G. Leventis

Besides these, however, I've recently re-discovered two other Greek whites that have further accentuated the country's unbridled potential as a world-class wine producer: Savatiano and Moschofilero.

During recent industry events in Nicosia, I had the privilege of tasting two of these varieties' incarnations and, while they do not belt out Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On in the same way Assyrtiko and Malagousia do, they've done enough to tickle my fancy.

Savatiano was originally known as the main grape behind retsina, a status that unfortunately blemished its reputation as a variety capable of delivering bigger and better wines. However, thanks to the work of Domaine Papagiannakos just a stone's throw away from Athens' airport, Savatiano has gathered steam during the past two decades and started showing plenty of potential as a grape capable of shining on its lonesome. As mentioned in a 2014 article by Tara Q. Thomas in Wine & Spirits magazine, Vassilis Papagiannakos' "young savatianos have caused waves all over Greece for their fruitiness and clarity—characteristics not often associated with the variety." In an event hosted by importer Vassos Eliades Ltd., at the A.G. Leventis Gallery, Vassilis mentioned that this variety is his pride and joy, one that has been worked on for decades and has firmly put his winery on Greece's wine map. His 2015 rendition delivered as evinced by my review below.

2015 Boutari Oropedio Moschofilero

As for Moschofilero, I have always loved the versions put out by both Skouras and Tselepos. It came as a pleasant surprise, however, to enjoy Boutari Winery's latest experiment with the variety—the barrel-aged Oropedio from Mantineia—during a soiree organised at Caraffa Bastione by its importer Photos Photiades Group. I've always associated Moschofilero—with its pinkish hue, citrus undertones and oh-so-sweet spice—to a more subtle understudy to Gewürztraminer, and Boutari's latest experiment didn't change my mind. And before you get all uppity about my description for this variety, please take it as a compliment: Gewürztraminers are sometimes like a once pretty woman who's iced her face with one dollop too many of turquoise-toned makeup.

2015 Papagiannakos Savatiano - Vibrant aroma of orange peel, stone fruit, apples, white flowers and sweet spice. On the palate, there's plenty of apple, melon, some honeysuckle and beeswax, and (maybe, just maybe) a piney element, which could be my brain telling me we're edging closer and closer to retsina. Full-ish to the mouth with good length, quite waxy and a bitter finish, which can be confounding. 86/100.

2015 Boutari Oropedio Moschofilero - Somewhat tropical on the nose, reminiscent of pineapple doused in sweet spices and a touch of white flowers. The palate is dominated by notes of baked apples with cinnamon, some pear and a delicious citrus finish. Medium bodied, quite fruit forward yet short, and overall well received thanks to its loukoumi-like qualities. 87/100. 

New Kid In Town

On The Rock, many business people (I use that term rather loosely) love to jump onto the latest fad like pigs to a sty. Last summer, it was Frozen Yoghurt. Everywhere you went, Fro Yo stores spread like homegrown mint, the Old City home to about two hundred of them. This year, cheap yet somewhat stylish souvlaki eateries have taken over, I believe as a result of our bank accounts' bouts with undernutrition and the populace's infatuation with grill marks.

For the past several years, wine bars have too surged in popularity thanks to the success of establishments like Vinocultura and Silver Star, both of which originally launched as cavas. Some of these new additions are quite faithful to their trade and deserve to be known as proper wine bars, while others, in my opinion, are just jumping on the wine-wagon to reap its rewards. For instance, I recently went to one of these so-called new wine bars and, to my consternation, was served a chilled-to-the-bone glass of Cabernet Sauvignon. I couldn't care less how you spin it, that's not acceptable if you want to specialise in wine.

Bar, Cava and Deli from Outside

On the same road as Nicosia's powerhouse restaurant Pixida, you will find Barrique Wine & Deli, the city's latest wine-related addition and one that definitely merits its nomenclature. Open from 9:30 am to 2:00 am, the multipurpose establishment works as wine retailer, delicatessen and wine bar. The space is quite open and modern with sleek lines, dimmed lighting, a long bar with stools and contemporary furniture. There is a large sparsely decorated outdoor patio, again a bit too dark for my taste, and plenty of parking in an empty lot behind the establishment.


What first caught my attention though was the cava that sits in the middle of the room, a pair of short backlit shelves stocked with a great selection of wines, many of them only available at Barrique. Here you will find Zuccardi from Argentina, Douloufakis from Crete, and Apaltagua from Chile, to name a few. These can be consumed at the bar for a small surcharge, a practice impossible for me not to commend. Additionally, there are thirty-two wines by the glass that are properly dispensed by Napa Technology's Wine Station, a service first provided in Nicosia by Vinocultura and now mirrored by the new kid in town. The delicatessen, which sits to a side of the cava, is also impressive and offers customers charcuterie, cheeses and other deli items for consumption in situ or to take home. On one occasion, My Zolpidem Supplier brought us as party favours an unctuous goat cheese, chunks of Mimolette and Parmigiano-Regiano, Napoli salami and prosciutto, all of excellent quality except for the latter which was sliced thick like bacon. Personally, I was thrilled to see Laguiole cheese knives, along with other wine-related accessories, for sale by the deli; these make excellent house-warming or wedding gifts.

Logo & New Zealand Pinot Noir

The bar itself specialises in wine (duh!) and cold foods. You will not find any cooked/hot dishes at Barrique. Charcuterie and cheese platters, bruschetta, fresh salads, bread baskets and other similar offerings compose a well-thought-out menu. On our only visit there, a weeknight in late July, we had a small cheese platter (included both a soft and hard selection), a serving of (properly sliced) prosciutto, another of dressed-up bresaola and bruschetta with olive paste and tomatoes. Given the high quality of the ingredients used by Barrique, it's difficult to get wrong. However, one thing I believe will bother many locals are the smallish portions, something that is not taken lightly on The Rock by the patrons of meze. As for the wine, we stuck to glasses of Prosecco, South African Chenin Blanc, New Zealand Pinot Noir and Aes Ambelis Commandaria, the latter, in my opinion, the star of the evening. Overall, the service was of a high standard (maybe a touch too eager to please at points) and the prices were reasonable for several servings of wine and a few platters.

Kudos to Barrique on a great start, and Zuccardi Bonarda, see you soon.

Whine On The Rocks' Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Sparkling Spatulas